Telemark Nordic Club board, staff and race team representatives presented a framed photo of the Telemark Nordic Club Race Team to Kelowna Toyota to say thank you for their strong support of the Club over the last two seasons.
THANKS KELOWNA TOYOTA!
General
TELEMARK ATHLETES SHINE AT THE CANADIAN BIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS
Telemark Biathlon athletes Kira Friesen and Natalie Benoit have just wrapped up an outstanding week of racing in the Canadian Biathlon Championships at Whistler BC. Friesen and Benoit each qualified to compete at Nationals having achieved outstanding results this Winter in multiple sanctioned Biathlon races, including the Biathlon BC Cup #5, which was held right here at Telemark Nordic Club.
At the Canadian Biathlon Championships, 100’s of athletes and coaches from across Canada were hosted by Whistler. Dozens of race officials, scores of volunteers and many excited families and supporters all made it happen. Racing kicked off mid-week with the Canadian Championship Sprint and Individual competitions on Wednesday and Thursday. Natalie collected a 10th and 7th place respectively in a field of 25 Youth Women from across Canada. Kira, who raced a field of 20 Senior Girls racked up a Bronze medal in the Sprint and added an impressive Silver in the Individual competition.
Friday 29 March was a training day. Then on Saturday, the Pursuit race saw Kira dominate the entire Senior Girls field to bring home the Gold while Natalie scored another top 10 finish in the Youth Women category. The weather was warm with sunscreen being de rigueur!
On Sunday, Kira and Natalie both raced in the relays. Natalie was paired with Cole Bender from Omineca (Burns Lake) in the Single Mixed Relay and this dynamic duo scored a 7th place finish and the top BC Youth team. Kira and her relay partner Ksenyia Lypko from The West Coast Nordic Club (Fraser Valley) each cleaned all of their shooting bouts to finish 3 minutes ahead of the Silver medalists. That’s right, Kira Friesen not only got a full suite of medals, she also hit double gold at these Championships! Both of these Telemark athletes have worked so hard, representing our wonderful club and province, honouring Sport, their fellow competitors and having a good dose of fun along the way.
Kudos to Kira Friesen and Natalie Benoit!
Way to Go Telemark! Shoot clean, ski fast!
L-R Kira Friesen, Natalie Benoit
Team Telemark at the XC Nationals
The Telemark Nordic Club race program athletes recently returned from the XC Nationals in Quebec where they “Rocked It”. Telemark finished a best ever 9th out of 61 clubs/teams entered in the Nationals and had several outstanding performances. Telemark athletes all performed well and had many top 10 placings and personal bests. We won’t list all the results here but a few highlights include…
Silver Medal – Challenge Boys Team Sprint (Tristan Lee, Cole Turner)
Silver Medal – Junior Men Individual Sprint (Tallon Noble)
Bronze Medal – Junior Boys Individual Sprint (Cole Turner)
1st Overall Aggregate Junior Men 1 – Ian Williams
2nd Overall Aggregate Junior Boys 2 – Cole Turner
2nd Overall Aggregate Juvenile Boys 1 Garrett Siever
Congratulations to all 20+ athletes and coaches!
Telemark Ski Season Winding Down
The Telemark ski season is rapidly coming to a close. We opened later than normal but made up for it with great conditions right through to the end of March. However, with the recent warm weather we have lost quite a bit of snow and the trails are rapidly deteriorating. There is still some great skiing to be had but its time to start winding things down for the season.
The daylodge will be closed for the season as of Monday March 25th. The downstairs “Team Room” area of the lodge will remain open 24/7 as always until March 31st. We will also continue to groom some trails through the week to March 31st. After that we will be fully closed for the season.
Thanks for a great season.
Telemark Spring Break Skiing and Spring Schedule
You can tell that Spring is coming by the size of the icicles hanging from the roof of the lodge.
Conditions continue to be amazing at Telemark. The warm weather will be hitting us soon so come on out and take advantage of great skiing and snowshoeing while you still can. What could be better than taking the kids for some spring skiing/snowshoeing at Telemark during Spring Break!
Telemark will remain fully open until Sunday March 24th with the lodge open until 5pm daily and regular grooming. After that we will have a modified spring schedule (TBD) for another week until March 31st. Final closure for the season will be determined based upon conditions.
Friday March 15th is last night that the lodge will be open for Night Skiing this season. After that the lights will be on until 9pm daily until March 24th but the main lodge will be closed at 5pm. The downstairs “Team Area” will continue to be open 24/7 so you always have a place to store your stuff, change and get warm. We plan to turn the lights off for the season March 24th. So come on out and get in your last night skiing of the season. Conditions continue to be incredible with lots of good snow.
Team Telemark – Raffle Winners and Canadian Championships
Congratulations to all the winners of the Team Telemark Raffle draw. The raffle is an annual fundraiser for The Telemark Nordic Club Race Program. This year the raffle raised $7,500 to help our young athletes achieve their best and spread the word about what a great place Telemark is to ski for everybody. Thank you to everyone who supported this fundraiser?
List of Raffle Winners
- Kelowna Paddle Centre annual family membership – Daniella Hamm
- Salomon Aero 9 skin skis/bindings – Donna Mendel
- His and hers Tubbs Mountaineer snowshoes – Gord McGarva
- $500 Fresh Air gift certificate – Aaron Miller
- Waterfront Wines dinner for two – Michaeleen O’Connor
- SilverStar Nordic package – Sandy Redman
- Ski outing with Canadian Olympic Biathlete- Kristine MacLeod
- Taylor’s Antiques gift voucher – Hugh Warkentin
- PetroCanada gas card – Tim Musselman Bell
- 1 hour IFM Therapy and Performance massage – Phil Swetlikoff
- OneLife Health and Wellness personal trainer session – Greg Kilroy
- Ships Ahoy Gift certificate – Deepa Filatow
- Johnson Bentley family swim vouchers – John MacGregor
A big thanks to our very special raffle sponsors: Fresh Air Experience, Kelowna Paddle Centre, Ecoscape, Waterfront Wines, SilverStar, Taylor’s Antiques, PetroCanada, IFM Therapy and Performance, OneLife Health and Wellness, Ships Ahoy and Johnson Bentley Aquatic Centre.
Also…
Don’t forget to follow our young athletes at the Canadian Cross Country Ski National Championships at the Nakkertok Nordic Centre, Gatineau, Quebec from March 13 – 20, 2019. Event Website. There are 20 Telemark Nordic Club athletes, coaches and support taking part. Let’s Cheer on the athletes of Team Telemark as they compete against the best in the country. Follow their Results here .
Best! Day! Ever!
Kirsten’s dog Heidi: “I love it when the pack goes skiing on the K9 trail because I get to come! I get to cast aside my leash and explore and run hard and stick my nose way down in the deep fluffy snow beside the trail. But today was extra special. Today was the best day ever. The sun was out, the wildlife was out, the snow was perfect, and the air was SOOO clean. Can we go again tomorrow?”
The Telemark K9 trails are across the road from the main parking lot. There is a 3.5 km classic & skate ski trail and 2 stunning 3 km snowshoe trails (turn sharp right at the trail head). Everything on that side of the road is off-leash dog territory. The humans require a season pass or trail day pass ($5.00 at the lodge or use the drop box at the trail head).
The trails are well marked for both clockwise and counter clockwise travel. No need to bag your pet’s business but please flick it off the trail.
Note that you don’t need a canine companion to use these trails and they are really fantastic trails. The snowshoe trails are amongst the best on our property.
Telemark Fun Events This weekend – Ski League Funtastics and Biathlon Demo Day
This Weekend – March 9-10 join us at the Telemark Nordic Centre for some fun events. Looks like the weather will be fantastic and the snow conditions seem to just keep getting better.
Saturday March 9th, 2019 – Ski League FUNTASTICS SKI FESTIVAL – 10:30 to 12 Noon. Skill testing adventures for all the Youth Program kids (Bunnies, Jackrabbits, Track Attack, Adventurers). This is the last Ski League session of the year.
Saturday March 9th, 2019 – Family and Friends of Telemark POT LUCK & BBQ 12noon to 3pm. Following Funtastics join us to meet all the Kids, Coaches, Parents, Volunteers and Staff that make Telemark happen.
Sunday March 10th, 2019 – Biathlon Days at Telemark – Demo Day and Fun Public Race. Starting at 12 noon. Try your hand at shooting and then follow it up with a fun race – Racing Experience not necessary. Information Poster